1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with a shower fitting of the type which is adapted to be connected to supplies of hot and cold water and which is adapted to provide a supply of water, the temperature of which may be varied by varying the proportions in which the hot and cold water are mixed together, such fittings comprising a shower head comprising an inlet connection for the inlet of water and a spray outlet from which water flows in the form of a spray, and particularly of the kind in which the shower head is capable of being held in the hand by the user and moved freely about as is desired. Such a shower fitting is hereinafter referred to as being of the kind specified.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A shower fitting of the kind specified may comprise a generally Y-shaped conduit, two branches of which comprise end portions which are adapted to be secured to hot and cold water taps, and the third branch comprising an end portion which is secured to the shower head, which may be used remote from the taps, the hot and cold water mixing together in the third branch of the conduit as it flows towards and into the shower head.
One of the difficulties encountered in shower fittings of this kind is that there is often difficulty in exercising control over the temperature of the water flowing through the outlet by virtue of the distance which there may be between the taps and the user, and by virtue of the time delay in response to such exercise of control by the quantity of water in the conduit.
Another of the difficulties which is encountered is when it is desired to shut off the water flowing from the shower head, and this must be effected by turning off the taps, which may be remote from the user.
Another shower fitting of the kind specified comprises a fixed mixing unit, which may be secured to a wall of a shower cubicle, to which supplies of hot and cold water are delivered, and a single flexible conduit extending from the mixing unit to the inlet connection of the shower head, the mixing unit comprising valve means which may be operated manually to vary the proportions in which the hot and cold water are mixed to flow along the conduit towards the shower head. The valve means may comprise a single operating member, which may be thermostatically controlled, or may comprise separate taps for controlling the rate of flow of hot and cold water to the mixing unit. Such types of shower fitting may comprise a fixed mounting bracket secured to the wall of the shower cubicle on which the shower head may be releasably mounted so that the shower head can be used alternatively in this position or in a position removed from the mounting bracket.
Shower fittings of this kind suffer not only from the difficulties set out above, but also from the difficulty that the mixing unit projects out into the area of the shower cublicle where it can prove an awkward obstacle for the user of the shower. Attempts to overcome this problem have involved the provision of a suitable recess in the wall of the shower cubicle, so that the whole of the mixing unit and the valve means can be accommodated in such recess but this considerably increases the overall costs of the shower installation.
It has also been proposed to position the mixing unit and the valve means outside the shower cubicle, such as on the remote side of a shower curtain, but this makes the control difficult for the user to reach.
Further, where the hot water is mixed with cold water from a public mains supply, and where it is required that there be positive means for isolating one supply from the other when the shower is not in use, this requires the provision of a positive shut-off valve means in the mixing valve itself. This latter expedient is difficult to accomplish in practice, because when the shower head is in its static position, mounted on the mounting bracket, there may be a static head in the order of about four feet of water remaining in the conduit between the valve and the shower head, and this head of water can cause leakage past the shut-off valve.
A further type of shower fitting is known as the instantaneous type, and comprises a heating chamber an inlet of which is connected to a cold water mains supply, and an outlet of which is connected to a shower head. The heating element in the heating chamber may be designed to operate under constant heat input, the temperature of the water flowing from the shower head being controlled by a valve means which controls the rate of flow of water through the heating chamber between a lower rate, corresponding to a safe maximum temperature, and a higher rate. The heating chamber would additionally comprise a safety device operative to switch off the heating element in the event of an unsafe high temperature being reached by the water flowing therethrough.
However such shower fittings suffer from the disadvantage that the flow rate may vary with variation in water pressure, such as may be caused by another person in the premises turning on a mains water tap, and such variations in flow rate will produce changes in the temperature of the water flowing from the shower head, which may be uncomfortable and/or inconvenient.
It is one of the various objects of the invention to provide an improved form of shower fitting which reduces the difficulties set out above.